How Prosperous Is Your New Jersey ZIP Code? New Data Reveals Wealth Gap

Your address can tell you whether you're living in a town that's well-off, or financial distressed - and a new study indicates that many New Jersey residents face a tougher path to prosperity than their fellow Americans.

Axios published the report along with a nifty tool for breaking down prosperity right to individual ZIP codes.About 52 million people live in economically "distressed" ZIP codes, and most of those areas in New Jersey are not just in Newark and Paterson, but also areas of South Jersey as well.

Indeed, the map shows the disparity in wealth appears to apply within smaller communities as well — a troubling trend as Americans are less able now than at any point in modern history to uproot their lives and relocate to greener pastures, according to the 2017 Distressed Communities Index by the Economic Innovation Group.

"America’s elite zip codes are home to a spectacular degree of growth and prosperity— hubs of innovation and progress seemingly immune to the concerns over automation, globalization, or lack of upward mobility that pervade national headlines," the study said. "However, outside of those top communities, economic well-being is often tenuous at best. And, at worst, millions of Americans are stuck in places where what little economic stability exists is quickly eroding beneath their feet."

Among the factors that distress scores considered were the number of people at least 25 years old who don't have the equivalent of a high school diploma, the number of people living below the poverty line and how many jobs did the area gain from 2011 to 2015.

In the average distressed ZIP code, 6 percent of jobs were lost, and business establishments fell by 6.3 percent

The study looked at the relationship between the well-being of a particular community and various important factors, including people’s health, public assistance spending, demographics and political representation. There's a widening gap in the "economic and social experience" of the country's most distressed communities from the nation as a whole, the study found.

To see how your ZIP code and city fared, check out the interactive maps below. You can zoom in on New Jersey:

Or you can click on the white box that says "Alabama" and pick New Jersey from the drop-town menu of choices:

Patch file photo